ATTENDANCE AT AND PARTICIPATION IN SPORTING ACTIVITIES
Attending sporting events has social benefits, by providing a forum for interaction and helping to forge bonds and networks associated with supporting local or national teams. The General Social Survey, 2006, reported that 31% of people with profound or severe disability had attended a sporting event in the previous 12 months, compared to 58% of people without disability (see Graph 10).

In terms of disability group, people with intellectual or physical disability reported a lower attendance at sporting events (31% and 41% respectively), compared to people who didn’t have a disability (58%).

People experiencing profound or severe disability had lower attendance rates at all ages and attendance decreased with age (see Graph 10).

People with profound or severe disability were significantly less likely to report attending a sporting event than a person without a disability, with the greatest differences in attendance occurring in Western Australia and the ACT (see Graph 11).

People with profound or severe disability were less likely to report having participated in a sporting activity in the previous 12 months than people with no disability (38% compared to 68%). There was no difference in the participation rate between the sexes, with 38% of females and 39% of males with profound or severe disability having participated in a sporting event. Of the population without disability, 67% of females and 69% of males reported participating in sport in the previous 12 months.

In terms of particular disability types, 42% of people with an intellectual disability participated in a sporting activity, compared to 53% of people with a sensory disability and 68% of people without a disability. Participation rates for people with profound or severe disability were lower at all ages. In terms of age, the gap between participation rates of people with a disability and people without exceeded 20 percentage points from the mid-20s to the mid-80s (see Graph 12).

Participation rates in sporting events for people with profound or severe disability ranged from a low of 26% in South Australia to a high of 45% in the ACT. For the population without disability, participation ranged from 63% in South Australia to 79% in the ACT.

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